When the world retreated to our homes in 2020, it changed a lot for the nature of musicians. For some acts, it meant pivoting to home concerts. For others, it demolished how they made their livelihoods. In the case of Michigan-based act The Crane Wives, it led to one of the turning points in the band’s trajectory, all without any effort of their own.

The band’s song “The Moon Will Sing,” released five years earlier, was featured in an animated YouTube video that racked up millions of views. That led to a cult internet following that would translate to IRL success when the band could tour once again. Now, they’re bringing their live show to the Pabst Theater this Thursday night, which kicks off a summer run of dates for the band. Ahead of the tour, we talked with guitarist and vocalist Emilee Petersmark as well as bassist Ben Zito:

OMC: You guys are about to start your summer tour, but I know that you've been on tour for a while. What has the experience been like playing live this spring and in those early shows to start the year?

Petersmark: It's been amazing. We like to say that every day is a miracle, because we've been a band since 2010, so we've been at it for a while, and this is kind of our first year playing venues that are quite as big as the venues that we're playing. So a lot of it is experiencing that newness for the first time, but it's been really exciting, and we have the best fan base in the entire world. So it's always a joy to get to perform for them.

OMC: Let me ask a little bit about that steady grind of building up a fan base. “Beyond Beyond Beyond” is your first full-length record in eight years. Was there any concern that you might lose some of that momentum before this tour?

Zito: A little bit. Yeah. There was a lot of discussion within the band while we were working on this new album. Like, “what do these fans want? Should we care what they want? I mean, do we just close ourselves in a room and make a thing that we like and hope they like it, too?” Thankfully, that seems to be the case. Eight years is a long time to get new influences, listen to new music, and write new music. Thankfully, what came out, they seem to enjoy.

OMC: Obviously there were EPs in between, but the world changes a lot in that time. What was the harsh reality of touring now versus touring behind some of your early records, where getting the word out was different and getting your music in front of people might have been harder?

Petersmark: I think, for us, we feel incredibly grateful that our reach via the internet has really changed since the pandemic. We had a couple of viral moments through YouTube and TikTok. Because of that, being able to connect with our fans has been so different from how it was in 2017 or 2018. Back then, our reach was pretty limited to who was local to us or had physically been to a show. Thanks to the internet, we’re reaching fans overseas. We're doing our first UK tour this year. Without TikTok and YouTube, that wouldn’t have been possible.

Zito: One of the interesting things is that a lot of our songs have this narrative lyricism that creates worlds. The listeners have really latched onto that. They've made their own artwork, their own lore about the music, about us, about characters— even the paintings on our album covers.

They've really gotten to know us through our Patreon page. They're sharing artwork with us and building their own community where they’re sharing, reworking things, and making jokes.

Petersmark: The memes. We're too old for the memes.

Zito: They have memes about us that we don’t quite get but enjoy. Thank you. They really have their own little world online. It's amazing to watch. We just try to let them have it and stay out of the way.

OMC: What was the first moment where you were like, “Oh, this is way bigger than anything we've done before?” I’m sure there was that moment of “What is happening right now?”

Petersmark: We had a little preview into what the future would hold. Around 2020, we had a viral moment on YouTube where a video that we had released years ago suddenly gained a couple million views in a few months. It was outrageous—nothing we’d ever done had hit like that with an audience.

That was kind of scary at first, because you don’t really know who you’re bringing in when you cast a net that large. But we feel really grateful because it feels like the internet connected us with our brand of weirdos. We’re also artists and creatives who like nerdy things, and it just kind of connected us with people who would connect our music to their D&D characters or create their own narratives. So yeah, thank goodness for the internet.

Zito: To your question about a moment of realization; I remember in 2019, before the pandemic and before that viral video really took off, we played a little show in Plymouth, Michigan. Just a whatever kind of show, and a couple drove in from New York, eight hours to see us. They drove eight hours expecting a big show, and it was just us playing for 20 people. We hung out with them after the show. There wasn’t much to do, so we were like, “What are you doing?”

OMC: Okay, big question: who was the band member that dragged you onto TikTok? Or was it an outside push?

Zito: It wasn’t us. It was the fans. They took us to TikTok. Then I think Emilee was probably like, “We should respond to them on TikTok.”

Petersmark: We had a TikTok, basically, and all of the social media you’re supposed to have. But we had zero followers. It was a clone of our Instagram. Nothing unique.

I remember in 2020 checking TikTok and saying, “Holy shit, we have 50,000 followers.” We hadn’t been making content. We hadn’t been making announcements. So it became obvious we needed to start engaging with people, because that’s where our fans were. TikTok is my Everest. As a consumer, I get it. But as a content creator? My brain is not set up for video.

Zito: You’re a hundred steps ahead of me. I definitely couldn’t do it. 

Petersmark: I’m learning too. I’m turning 38 this year, so I feel out of my element. This isn’t the Facebook I grew up with. Everything feels different. But thankfully, our fans have taken a lot of the pressure off. They don’t expect us to be the best at anything. They’re kind and patient. They get a kick out of us using social media like millennials.

OMC: What does the future hold for you all, musically? It's been a long time between records. Are you now thinking about writing the next project, or are you just enjoying the summer and these shows?

Zito: Man, we just put one out. 

Petersmark: It’s so hard to keep up with the industry. They always want you making something, promoting it, and touring on it. It’s difficult to juggle multiple tasks. Touring and recording, or touring and writing. Those are hard to combine.

For me, I’m grateful to be back on the road. I like touring. It’s exciting to perform, meet fans, and see how different life is across the U.S. Then hopefully we come back in the winter with more stories to tell.

It’s hard to do it all when you’re stuck in a van for most of the day, so it’s nice to come back home.

Zito: That’s why we write so many songs about vans.

Petersmark: No.

OMC: Between the spring tour and the July tour, which starts here in Milwaukee in a few days, you had some weeks off. What was one thing you absolutely had to do while off the road—your safe space?

Petersmark: I really wanted to get a kayak in. I love to kayak. It’s hard to do on the road—you can’t bring them with you. I guess you can, but we don’t have the space.

No space and no time. So it was really nice to get out on the river. That was my safe space.

Zito: For me, it was spending time with my daughter. I have a newborn at home. I also got a big bike ride in last week. That was exciting.

OMC: There you go. Well, we look forward to seeing you in Milwaukee. There are kayaks you can rent here, you know?

Zito: There you go!

Petersmark: Start that tour right.

Zito: Milwaukee, guys.

OMC: Your venue is actually pretty close to the river. You can make some stuff happen.

Petersmark: Absolutely.

You can catch The Crane Wives on Thursday night at the Pabst Theater. Tickets are on sale now via the Pabst Theater Group website.